Meet the 2014 Golden Spikes Award Candidates

As of May 23, A.J. Reed has racked up a Southeastern Conference-best 23 home runs and 70 RBIs, good for first and fourth in the country, respectively. His .356 batting average is tied for highest in the SEC, and he leads the nation in slugging percentage (.761). As a two-way player, he also has the best record in the SEC at 10-2 and recorded 66 strikeouts in 98 innings through 14 starts.

Michael Conforto leads the Pac-12 Conference in walks (46), slugging percentage (.587) and runs scored (49), and was second in the conference in RBIs with 55, as of May 23. He is also third in the nation in on-base percentage with a .519 mark, and his 46 walks in 50 games are also good for fifth in the country. On Feb. 25, he was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.

Aaron Nola has recorded the third most strikeouts in the nation with 127 in 109 innings as of May 23, and that number also leads the Southeastern Conference. He ranks fourth in the country in WHIP at 0.82 and has allowed the fifth fewest hits in the country per nine innings. He recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven innings against Arkansas on April 11.

Aaron Brown has performed well in 2014 both at the plate and on the mound. As of May 23, he leads the West Coast Conference in home runs, with 12, and strikeouts, with 89 in 92 2/3 innings. His 10 wins lead the conference and are tied for the fourth most in the national standings. He has also been named the West Coast Conference Rawlings Pitcher of the Week twice in 2014.

Tyler Davis owns the third lowest ERA in the Pac-12 at 1.71 as of May 23. His 10 wins are tied for second best in the conference and fourth most in the country. He was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the week on April 14. In 14 appearances and 89 2/3 innings so far this season, Davis has not given up a home run and has surrendered just one triple.

As of May 23, Chris Ellis leads Mississippi with a 2.17 ERA and nine wins. Those wins also tie Ellis for second most in the Southeastern Conference. As a Friday-night starter for the Rebels, Ellis has gone less than 5 2/3 innings in just one start so far this season. He also pitched a five-hit shutout on Feb. 21 against Georgia State, striking out four and walking none.

Kyle Freeland was named the Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2014. As of May 23, Freeland is second in the national rankings with 128 strikeouts in just 94 2/3 innings and has walked just nine batters so far this season. His 10-1 record is the best in the MVC and is tied for the fourth most wins in the nation. He also ranks third in the conference with a 1.90 ERA and has twice tallied a career-high 15 strikeouts in 2014.

Casey Gillaspie owns a Missouri Valley Conference-leading .389 batting average, which also ranks him 16th in the nation as of May 23. He also leads the MVC in hits (82), home runs (15), walks (58), and is tied for first in RBIs with 50. He is in the top 30 in the national rankings with a .472 on-base percentage, and his .721 slugging percentage is good for 15th in the country.

Daniel Gossett was named First Team All-ACC for the 2014 season. As of May 23, his 1.78 ERA is the second lowest in the conference, and he has also tallied the second most innings pitched in the ACC with 101 1/3. He also ranks fourth in opponent batting average at .191 and is third in the conference in strikeouts so far this season with 102. Gossett has also recorded a conference-high two shutouts. The right-hander received ACC Pitcher of the Week honors twice in 2014.

Matt Imhof has the sixth most strikeouts in the nation with 120 in just 91 2/3 innings as of May 23 -- a mark that also leads the Big West Conference. His nine wins are tied for second in the conference. In his first five starts of the season, he recorded 55 strikeouts. On March 28, he pitched a four-hit shutout of UC Davis, recording 13 strikeouts -- two shy of his career high -- without walking a batter. The lefty won Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors three times in 2014.

Connor Joe was named First Team All-West Coast Conference for 2014. As of May 23, he is seventh in the conference standings in batting average at .367, his 59 runs scored and 51 RBIs top the conference rankings, and he is second in doubles with 21. He also ranks third in the conference in hits with 80, second in home runs with nine and second in walks with 32. His 21 doubles also tie him for 11th place in the national rankings, and he ranks in the top 25 nationally with a .606 slugging percentage and 80 hits.

As of May 23, Michael Katz has totaled the second most RBIs in the country with 72. He also ranks fourth nationally in doubles with 24 and is tied for seventh in the country in home runs, clubbing 14 so far this season. His .366 batting average is good for second in the Colonial Athletic Association conference, and he leads the conference with 83 hits and a slugging percentage of .677. In March, he was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week two weeks in a row.

On May 19, Nathan Kirby was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-ACC. As of May 23, he is first in the conference in opponent batting average at .180 and has an ACC-low ERA of 1.58. Kirby has tallied 91 strikeouts while walking just 20 batters in his 85 1/3 innings. On April 4, he tossed his first complete game and no-hitter of his career against Pittsburgh, in which he recorded 18 strikeouts and just one walk.

Jordan Luplow was named the 2014 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-Mountain West. As of May 23, he leads the conference standings with a .377 batting average, ranks second in hits (81), fourth in RBIs (48) and third in doubles (21) and home runs (9). Nationally, Luplow's 21 doubles tie him for 11th in the country, and his .617 slugging percentage is good for 18th in the nation.

Andrew Morales was named First Team All-Big West for the 2014 season. He owns the second most wins in the conference with nine, and he is second in the conference in strikeouts (119) and innings pitched (109 1/3) as of May 23. So far this season, Morales has recorded two complete games, given up just 11 extra base hits and has not allowed a home run. His 119 strikeouts so far this season also place him seventh in the national standings.

Michael Murray broke the Florida Gulf Coast single-season wins record in 2014 with his 12th of the season on May 9, passing Chris Sale's record of 11. As of May 23, his 13-1 record is tied for the best in the nation, and he also leads the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 1.85 ERA and 79 strikeouts. On March 14, he struck out a career-high 13 batters while allowing no runs in seven innings. He has won Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week honors four times in 2014.

Max Pentecost is ranked third in the country with a .418 batting average as of May 23. He leads the nation in hits with 100 and leads the Atlantic Sun Conference in RBIs with 54. His 21 doubles are also good for second in the conference so far this season. Pentecost has won Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week honors three times in 2014.

Josh Prevost was named the 2014 Big East Conference Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Big East. As of May 22, his 11-2 record and 1.76 ERA both top the conference standings. He also has the most strikeouts in the Big East with 111, which is also good for 14th in the country. So far this season, Prevost has also recorded five complete games.

DJ Stewart was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC on May 19. As of May 23, his .362 batting average leads the ACC, and he also leads the conference in on-base percentage (.474) and slugging percentage (.578). He is tied for second in the conference in doubles and RBIs with 19 and 47, respectively, and his seven home runs put him in a tie for seventh place.

Sam Travis was unanimously selected First Team All-Big Ten and named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year for 2014. As of May 23, he is third in the conference in batting average and is ranked second in walks (21), RBIs (53), runs scored (49) and home runs (10). His 77 hits lead the Big Ten and he was named the Big Ten Baseball Player of the Week twice in 2014.

Drew Weeks was named First Team All-Conference by the Atlantic Sun Conference on May 20. As of May 23, he tops the national rankings with a .435 batting average and has totaled the fourth most hits in the country with 95, which also broke the North Florida school record for hits in a season. He ranks in the top 25 nationally with a .606 slugging percentage and was named the Atlantic Sun Baseball Player of the Week on March 24.